Tag: vacation

It had occurred to me about a month a go that I had not taken any time off since Disney so I decided to take some time off. It also so happened to be Labor Day weekend.

So my wife and I took the weekend and spent time together as a family. It was nice to spend some time together. We went to a few shops, ate at some restaurants, watched Disney movies, cleaned the house, and even my wife did some crafts. It was great to take some time out of the usually day to day and just be a family and relax.

We took the kids to The Disney Store and they lost their minds. They always enjoy going and picking out a new stuff animal. Evie sometimes thinks she can leave the store with a handful of stuff. You have to watch her.

I got some good training in this weekend as it fell on my leg and push day. I am getting stronger heading into week three and my body is changing in ways I am loving. I really do believe I will be show ready on time.

Me and the kids got some much needed naps in.

We even had the nephews over and played with them to get us ready. We will be keeping them in two weeks. One house, two adults and four kids… GOD HELP US! Although I did find out they can be bribed with mashmellows

By the time Sunday rolled around we were tired and spent the day getting ready for the next four days of work and school but we found some time to take fun pictures.

This week I have been in touch with my travel agent and we are in the process of planning another epic trip to Disney World in April 2018. I am already registered to run the Star Wars Half Marathon a weekend in April so we decided to turn that weekend in a extra long trip as a family.

This time around it will be just the four of us going. That makes me sad but I feel we can manage an extended stay with only two adults. I am so excited to be planning this trip. I already have selected some of the places I want to make dining reservations at. I have been reading the food blogs like crazy. There was still so much to do that last time we could not squeeze it all in.

This past weekend we headed down to Holden Beach for a little family vacation. Nothing fancy but us and the rest of BrittWhitFun’s family. We really had no choice cause of all the renovations going on we could not be at the house.

The first day we were there we had a great breakfast over at Nana’s house. We then headed to the dock and got on my FIL’s boat. There is just something great about being on a boat in the summer time. We rode around for a while and found a great spot on the inlet and set up camp.

We spent the entire morning and afternoon playing in the sand, swimming, fishing, and just relaxing. It was great. The beach is one of my favorite places and it is awesome that my in laws share the same joy.

After we got done we loaded up camp and came back to the dock. We went back to the motel we were staying and got showers. After we got cleaned off we headed back over to Nana’s house so the kids could have some alone time with their Pop and Nana while the adults went out to dinner.

We had a great dinner at Provision Company which included a couple of cocktails and seafood. It is always great to get away without the kids and enjoy some adult laughs and conversation. After dinner we went to a local ice cream shop where my SIL just can’t seem to eat an ice cream cone the right way. I mean who bites the end of a cone with ice cream still in there?

After some much needed rest we ready for day two. We went back to Nana’s house and ate breakfast again and then headed down to the beach.

We spent another long morning and afternoon on the beach swimming, digging holes, looking for seashells, and eating burgers from the local pier. Its was an awesome day. My kids got disgusting, especially Evie, and had to be rinsed off before heading home.

I must say I love my in laws and my little family. Our beach trips are always so much fun. I hope that even though our Nana is selling her place that we can continue these trips and enjoy each others company.

This past weekend we headed back to Carolina Beach to get the truck from the auto shop. I was a great chance to have a little day trip and enjoy each other’s company. It was a perfect Saturday morning.

After we got the truck, we headed down to the boardwalk and ate at Shelby Jean’s restaurant. It was a cool place with some really good food. The girls had a blast eating and of course chasing each other around the whole place.

After finding some grub for our bellys, we headed to the beach for some fun in the sun.

We built sandcastles and watched the girls get coated with sand. I have never seen Evie get so disgusting. It was fun to hang on the beach with them.

After playing in the and and beating the ocean up for the second time, we changed our clothes and headed home but not before grabbing doughnuts from Britt’s and Wake and Bake. What can I say? Saturdays are meant for doughnuts and coffee. I love them both.

We had a blast on our day trip and have discussed to do more of them in the future.

Sorry for the short break. The Wifi in the room was not very good so I had to wait until I was home before I could share more pics of the trip.

Day 4 had us venturing back to The Magic Kingdom for some more fun. The first thing was a breakfast at 1900 Park Fare which was by far my favorite breakfast on our trip. There we ran into some familiar faces like Mary Poppins, Alice, The Mad Hatter, and Pooh and Tigger.

Then we headed to the park and rode The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

Then we got the great flying elephant DUMBO!!!!

And of course THE SPINNING TEACUPS!

After our spin we walked around the park and I manage to get some cute shots of the kids

After we ate a great dinner at Liberty Tree we got on Aladdin’s magic carpets.

Finally it was time to go but not without witnessing the awesome fireworks of The Magic Kingdom.

Its been a while since my last entry. The family is getting ready to head to Disney soon and we have been swamped trying to get last minute details made. Last night we finally got our magicbands for our trip. it was like I got the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

I just wanted to write a post and give a quick update as I have been away yet again from the blogosphere. I will talk more about Disney later.

Like I said on my last blog entry, I signed up for a 21 Dad Bod Challenge. I just finished this past week and I have to say it was just what I need to do. I was in a funk with my fitness and nutrition. I was just going through the motions during my workout and not really getting anything out of it. My nutrition was horrible and I ended up gaining 20 pounds back. Not the best news.

So I enrolled in this challenge to shake things up and get me back on track. The first week I went from a starting weight of 251 pounds to 240 pounds. This was a result of eating nothing but meat, veggies, and nuts and drinking water. The second week we added 100 grams of carbs to the mix. The third and final week we increased our healthy fats to 90% which was crazy. I went from 251 pounds to 234 pounds. It was insane. I learned so much about how food influences my body and that I need to find a health balance with my carb intake.

I normally never post pictures like this but I did such a great job and the results were so good that I had to share

W managed to take K-Dub to the circus to see the last show form Ringling Brothers. It was so much fun and K-Dub got to be spoiled by Mom and Dad so she like that. She had a great time but kept questioning me on why there was not any elephants.

On Valentine’s Day I took BrittWhitFun on a night out to our favorite restaurant in South Park. We had a nice time talking over a bottle of wine and stuffing our face with some great pasta. It was nice to get away with the wife and not have to take someone to the bathroom every five minutes.

As for the kids, K-Dub is going to start playing soccer soon. So I was trying to teach her how to play and the importance of her keeping her hands off the ball but she is four and not Mia Hamm. Super excited to become a soccer dad cheer on my girl.

Everly has not been doing so well. She has been battling with her 7th ear infection in less then five months so we are going to see a specialist soon about putting tubes in her ear. Not going to be a fun visit but it is very much needed.

Ok lets talk about Disney!

So we are fixing to head to Disney in less then three weeks. I am so excited it has been hard to go to work. My wife actually told me to stop talking about cause I was becoming obsessed, I have spent A LOT of time planning fun things to do for us, picking out some restaurants I want to eat at, some shops I want to visit, fun things for the kids to do, somethings for the adults to do. There are so many things at Disney World that it has become a little bit overwhelming.

There are nine of us going. Half of us are staying at Port Orleans- Riverside and the others are staying at Arts of Animation Resort. If anyone has any suggestions or tips regarding these resorts please let me know.

We are doing the Deluxe Dining plan based on a suggestion from my BIL. We managed to make reservations to all the good restaurants like Chef Mickeys, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Tusker House, Coral Reef Restaurant, and even Be Our Guest. If you have any menu suggestions or other tips and tricks about the dining plan please let me know also.

All and all we are super excited. We have already begun packing for this trip. Everyday we are going down the list with things to bring. Like above, if anyone has any Disney tips please share them with me as I have never been. I need to know the dos and don’ts.

So I promise to blog more about my Disney trip. If you follow me on Instagram be prepared to have your feed blown up with pictures and videos. You have been warned.

My wife and I have been wanting to do something big for our next vacation. Don’t get me wrong. We LOVE our long trips to Holden Beach every summer but this year we wanted to do something very different. A vacation that we would remember for the rest of our lives. On thing I have always wanted to do and anyone who knows me knows I always wanted to go to Disney. It has been a dream of mine to spend a week in the company of Mickey and his friends.

So when it came time to plan, we decided that why not make it a family affair and invite my sister-in-law, Kate and her husband along with my two nephews. They have been to Disney before and to be honest, I wanted someone that has some experience to go with us. Finally, I invited my best friend Chris, who has always been there for me at a drop of the hat and I wanted him to share in the extraordinary experience.

We decided to go in March so it would not be too hot and it would also not be crazy crowded, I got a travel agent, who so happens to be the wife of one of my gym friends. She was great when it came to making the accommodations and really listened to us about what we wanted, Her name is Nicole and and she is from Once Upon A Vacation. Send me a comment if you want her info so you can have her start planning your vacation.

We finally got our dining plan set and made our reservations. Here we are less then 75 days until we are on the way and we have so much left to do. We still have to plan our our route and coordinate our schedule for our departure. We still need to book our Fast Passes.

Needless to say, we are super excited for this experience. If you have been to Disney World, please let me know what things to see, places I need to eat, and what rides are worth the wait. Comment below.